Ian: I- I'm really curious like how, like when you saw the picture of yourself at the beginning-

Dario: Yeah-

Ian: Do you recognize that person? Same person? Different person?

Dario: Well, it is the same person, but looks kind of different now. I lost a lot of weight, actually. And, yeah, my beard is a little bit longer than it was when I started.

Maya: You have more color in your face.

Dario: Yeah.

Maya: And we both have probably, just look healthier, I don't know.

Dario: Yeah, I think so too.

Ian: Do you feel healthier?

Dario: Yeah. I am. I think I feel actually...

Maya: Yeah. We're actually... a lot of-

Ian: That didn't sound really convincing.

Maya: A lot of fresh- I mean we ate just crap all the time.

Ian: Yeah.

Maya: We've been eating so much crappy food.

Ian: Like, what's a typical meal?

Dario: Typical meal? It's like, we start with breakfast, maybe tortillas with Nutella and maybe, what else do we have?

Maya: And some kind of green cheese and then dried apricots and, and oatmeal-

Dario: Sometimes-

Maya: I have oatmeal; he doesn't like it.

Dario: Sometimes we have salami, like a whole salami which we cut it then or some sausage.

Maya: Oh and then we were at home in Switzerland for 3 weeks and brought some mayonnaise and mustard and some like this aromatic paste with us for breakfast so that-

Dario: That would be...

Ian: Is Swiss mayonnaise and mustard different?

Maya: Yeah.

Dario: Yeah. Totally different.

Maya: Much better. Much better.

Dario: Yeah. Sorry to say that.

Ian: What do you... Did- Did you think you were going to make it to the end?

Dario: Well…

Maya: Probably not. I never dared think about- thinking about it. I-I took it more like-

Dario: Step by step I think.

Maya: Yeah.

Dario: It's like- It's like when you're-

Maya: Section by section.

Dario: Yeah. It's like when you're climbing ...

Maya: It was like-

Dario: ... Everest I think. You're not thinking, "I'm going up this peak". It's like I'm going from one camp to another to another to another, and it's the same with the PCT for us. It wasn't easy. From time to time to time it's like the...

Maya: First goal was to finish to, like to, to the desert part, the first 700 miles and I would be pretty proud if I achieve that. And then we achieved that and yeah. By that time, we were just so excited to leave the desert and get into the sierra. So that was, yeah, was very adventurous up there in the sierra.

Ian: How do you feel about being so close to the end now?

Maya: Oh great. Really great.

Dario: Yeah, really great. Because the last few days weren't that great. Today's a beautiful day...

Maya: Yeah, today, never thought it was going to be like this.

Dario: ... sun shining and it's even warm. But 2 days ago we were in a snow storm and we came down from a, what was it?

Ian: Rainy pass?

Dario: No, not rainy pass. Cloudy pass.

Maya: Cloudy pass.

Dario: Cloudy pass to Holden*. There was snow when, no, there was rain when we- heavy rain when we climbed to the pass and then we got down from the pass. It was a big snow storm and there's no opportunity to get out earlier than before Holden* so we had to walk through the snow storm like for 4 more hours all the way down. We were completely soaked. Yeah, she was even crying and-

Maya: I was just crying for the last 3 hours I think. Just nonstop because it was like the only warm thing that I could feel would be my warm tears. Everything else was just I couldn't feel anything, I was completely numb and just the fact that if I just keep walking I will make it to a dry place at night it was kept me going. And-

Dario: But it was kind of scary actually because ...

Maya: Yeah, it was scary.

Dario: ... at one point you- you couldn't feel your hands anymore and- and it's starting to feel like the- all the cold is moving up to my arm and the- also the feet they were completely-

Maya: Yeah, and at that point we had already been walking in the rain for- in constant rain for 3 days. So, even if you're saying like, "Oh I have waterproof rain pants or waterproof jacket", nothing is waterproof after 3 days in constant rain.

Dario: No.

Maya: So yeah, we were- we knew- like if we had- were to- like if we were somewhere room- more remote and we could not get into that village, I- I don't know what we would've done.

Dario: That would really really suck, yeah.

Maya: We- cause we- there was no option to get dry.

Dario: Because also the tent was completely soaked.

Maya: SO there is a lot of truth about fin- trying to finish before the end of September.

Dario: Yeah. Maya: Definitely.

Dario: And that is why we feel pretty yeah, good to end it now. It's- it's- it was a beautiful trip. It was a big adventure but it's time for an end now.

Maya: We're hoping that the last 4 days would stay like this and then we'll be happy. And it'll be the best finish we could hope for.

Dario: Yeah, that would be amazing actually.

Ian: Are you going on into Manning Park Canada?

Dario: Yeah, we will. We will try.

Ian: What do you think you'll do after this is over?

Dario: Well, that's a good thing.

Maya: We have my host mom. Like the- I live with her- with them when I was an exchange in Canada 14 years ago. She's going to pick us up, we're going to spend like 5 days in Vancouver Island with her and her family and then get a car and drive around Vancouver Bank, Jasper, and up North for about 2 weeks and then on the 22nd of October, we will fly to Cartagena in Columbia and just keep travelling for another 10 months.

Ian: Sounds fun.

Dario: Yeah. Basically the idea is going all the way down to Patagonia but not on foot.

Maya: That's the best way to avoid the post trail depression.

Dario: And Australia and then Asia, yeah.

Ian: Can you introduce yourselves?

Dario: My-my real name? Or whatever-

Ian: However you like.

Dario: Yeah, my real name is Dario and my trail name is Ratatouille because- that's because I like to cook little bit better or more sophisticated if you can say so on the trail like bring maybe fresh garlic and fresh tomatoes, yeah.

Maya: And I'm Maya slash Bingo for trail name because I was introduced to the fun game of Bingo and I may have, yeah, been a little bit-

Dario: Over enthusiastic...

Maya: ... over enthusiastic about it so, I didn't win.

Dario: She played in like 8 boards on the- at the same time because she really liked the game. Yeah, and we both live in Switzerland in Missouri. She's from the hotel industry actually and I'm a software developer.